Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 518 — page 7: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

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Mind, you have given your word that you will not try to bother us.” _ ** Don’t be alarmed; I shall not trouble you.” ‘*So-long; see you again some time, maybe!” And then the unknown left the carriage. Sioux Sam counted fifty leisurely, waited for a moment, then removed the handkerchief and looked around him. As he had anticipated, he was in a hack—a common-looking and not over-clean vehicle. The hack was standing in a rather narrow street, and as far as he could make out in the darkness, the houses on both sides of the way were small, wooden structures. He quitted the carriage, and the moment he got clear of the vehicle, shutting the door behind him, the driver instantly started his horses whipping them into a sharp trot, so that if Sioux Sam had had any idea of interviewing the driver, this movement would have prevent- ed it, But the young scout had no such notion. He was satisfied to get out of his unpleasant predicament thus easily, and there was not the slightest doubt in his mind in regard to the tale told by the masked man. There was no reason why any one should wish to work him harm, and so he was satisfied that a mistake had been made and he had been cap- tured in place of some one else. He followed the hack down the street, and when he reached the corner, found himself in Third avenue. By the time he came the owner of the carriage was out of sight. Although by this time it was efter midnight, Sioux Sam found a hotel without difficulty, one of the all-night places, but perfectly respectable and procured lodgings there. He did not wish to go to the show at such an untimely hour, He was up early inthe morning and tooka train on the Elevated road, which speedily car- ried him down-town, When he made his appearance in Madison Square Garden a shout of astonishment went up from all his associates, and many were the ques- tions showered on him. Buffalo Bill was attracted by the noise, hap- pening to enter the Garden just at that moment accompanied by a fine-looking young man, a Western friend whom he had chanced to en- counter on the’previous evening. And right glad was Buffalo Bill to meet with this old acquaintance, for he was a partner as true as steel and as good as gold. It was the renowned scout and plainsman, Cool Colorado, who figured as the hero of our novel, ‘Cool Colorado, or the Half-breed De- tective.” The great scout was amazed by the unex- pected appearance of Sioux Sam. ‘* Well, where on earth did you come from?” he exclaimed. ‘*T was just beginning to be afraid that some of these New York Injuns had got hold of you, and I was meditating if [ hadn’t better call in the sharps of the detective police to my as- sistance. “‘T didn’t know but what. you, had wandered Geseesown and got lost in some of the canyons thar. ‘‘The sharps hyer tell me that thar’s a worse wilderness ahaa around Wall street for men to get lost in than any tangled patch we can scare up in the West out toward sundown.” ‘‘ Well, I reckon that’s a fact, Mr. Cody,” the scout replied. re the way, do you know Mr. Colorado hyer?” Buffalo Bill asked, abruptly. “‘ No, I think not, although out in the West I know one Mr, Colorado pretty well by reputa- lon—( Colorado.” _ “This hyer is the man,” and then Buffalo Bill _ introduced the two. _ Each was pleased to meet the other, and it Was a hea hand -shake which they ex- ‘* Come into my office, boys, whar we can talk this little matter over,” said Buffalo Bill, leading the way to his private apartment. The two young men followed. The great scout produced cigars and after | times acts foo they were all comfortably seated, and the weeds lighted, he said: ‘* Now, Sioux, go ahead with your yarn, for I have an idea from your looks that you have had an adventure, ‘* That is a fact, a mighty queer one too, and yet it doesn’t amount to anything after all,” Sioux Sam replied. ‘* Fire away!” The young scout obeyed the command and re- lated all that occurred to him from the time he left Madison Square Garden until he returned to it. ¥ Buffalo Bill listened with the utmost atten- ion. ‘* Well, it is a mighty strange affair, and there has been another strange circumstance, too, oc- curred. ‘*Do you know the Ute princess, the Snow White Dove?” he asked, abruptly. ‘Yes, I met her at Red Bluffs—in fact, I was lucky enough to be able to be of service to her,” and then he explained how he had rescued her from the drunken miners, ‘*T suppose that leetle affair made the gal think a heap of you, eh, Sioux?” queried the great scout, with a shrewd glance at the honest face of Sioux Sam. The young i zag laughed and appeared a trifle confused, ‘* Well, I can’t really say: she appeared to be grateful—said she would never forget the ser- vice, or be able to repay the obligation, and all that sort of thing;-mebbe we would have had a little love scrape, but a few days after the affair happened I came East to join you and that, of course, put an end to the acquaintanceship.” ** Then you didn’t know, Sioux, that the Snow White Dove has been with this outfit right from the start?” ee CHAPTER VIII. GETTING AT THE TRUTH. THE young scout stared in astonishment, for ox announcement was a complete surprise to im. Buffalo Bill was watching the face of Sioux Sam intently with his keen eyes, for, although he believed the scout would not attempt to de- ceive him, yet long experience had told him that when a young + low became in love he some- shly. , ‘* Well, lam amazed, Mr. Cody, for I had no suspicion of such a thing,” Sioux Sam replied. ‘She was hyer with Green Snake and his wife. She is the princess of the tribe, you knogy, and so Green Suake did as she told hi, She had her face and hands stained—in fact, was so completely disguised that no one seems to have mistrusted that she was not the sister of Green Snake’s squaw, as she pretended. *¢ ‘Yes, I see.” ‘‘ Have you any suspicions why she tried this dodge?” Buffalo Bill asked. ‘* Indeed I have not,” Sioux Sam replied, and the great scout, looking bim straight in the eyes, was convinced he told the thath. “It is a mighty strange affair all round,” Buffalo Bill remarked, “Day before yesterday—the very morning that you were discovered to be absent—Snow White Dove disappeared. ‘* Green Snake covered up the matter by say- ing she was in the wigwam, sick. ‘Of course, when the report was made to me, not having the slightest suspicion that there was anything crooked about the matter, I didn’t trouble myself in regard to it. ‘But when two days passed and the girl did not return, Green Snake got uneasy, came to me, and made a clean breast of it. ‘Snow White Dove had disappeared without saying a word to him, and he hadn’t the least idea what had become of Ler, but, although he had not been in her confidence at all, yet he had made a shrewd guess why she had disguised her- self and joined the show. She had fallen dead in love with a young man about your size, and had joined the show so she could be near him.” . Sioux Sam looked serious. ‘I hope, Mr. Cody, you will believe me when I say that I badn’t the least suspicion of such a thing!” he exclaimed, $¢4 7h. Pa [ will take your word for it, al- though I will admit that when I heard of the girl’s disappearance—learned who she was, and what brought her to the camp, I jumped at once to the conclusion that you had gone off to- gether.” ‘“That was a very natural conclusion, I am sure,” Cool Colorado remarked, ‘“‘ That’s so! I don’t wonder at it,” the young scout assented. ‘Of course, I was puzzled by the thing,” — | Buffalo Bill remarked. ‘‘ Because if you and the gal had a love scrape and. wanted to hitch hosses, there wasn’t any need for you to run away. All you had to do was to come to me, explain matters, and I would have done my best to help you out.” ‘* Certainly! I know that well enough, and that is exactly what I would have done. You have been too good a friend to me, Buffalo, for me to try any underhand game!” claimed the young scout warmly. ‘*Sbake!” cried Buffalo Bill, and the two men exchanged a hearty grip. ‘*The Green Snake was sure you and the gal had slid out together—natural, under the cir- cumstances, you know, but now that that idea be bu’sted, what on earth has become of the gal? ‘*lam utterly in the dark!” Sioux Sam obe served. ‘*Say, Colorado, that is in your line!” ex- claimed Buffalo Bill abruptly. ** Colorado came East to work up a little detec- tive business, and the big detective sharps hyer in New York say that he did the job right up to the handle! In fact, I heard that at Police’ Headquarters they call him the Half-breed Detective.” ‘* They fiatter me, 1 reckon!’ Cool Colorado exclaimed with a laugh. ‘* | don’t know about that; I reckon you are as sharp as they make ’em. ‘*Come, size up this thing, and tell us what you make of it!” Cool Colorado had already done this in his mind, for he was a natural-born detective, and had formed a theory in regard to the matter, ‘*Do you suppose that any of the boys in the camp discovered that the Snow White Dove was with the outfit?’ Cool Colorado asked. ‘* Ob, yes, that might be possible, although no one said anything about it to me,” Buffalo Bill answered. ‘* Now, this yarn about Sioux Sam being mis- taken for somebody élse, I don’t take any stock in at all!” Cool Colorado declared. ‘*It doe-n’t look probable,” Buffalo Bill ad- mitted. ‘‘ But if the attack was not a mistake, why was it made?” Sioux Sam asked. ‘“*To get you out of the way for awhile!” re-. plied the Half-breed Detective, coming directly at the truth with that subtle instinct which pro- claims the born sleuth-hound. ‘““But the object of that?” Buffalo Bill ques- tioned. ‘*To work upon the pears without any one gone. ‘* Now, suppose some plotters have been at work; some men who have recognized the girl as the Ute princess, and in some way discovered that she came to the East because she was struck after our friend hyer. That is not improbable, you know.” The others admitted the truth of this. , * Now, suppose these plotters managed to get on good terms with the girl, and, for acertain object, wanted to get her to leave the show and go to the West, how better could they work the trick than hy getting Sioux byer out of the way for a while?” ‘* Yes, yes, that’s so!” admitted Buffalo Bill, while the young scout nodded assent. Both were following the Half-breed Detective’s argument with intense interest. > : “Then they could tell the girl that he’ had quit the show and gone back to the West—pro- bably succeeded in gaining her confidence so that they could speak of her love affair; a wo- man may bave worked the trick, you know.” Again the others nodded. ‘*Tt is evident to me that the girl didn’t go off unaided: she must have bad some one to help her,” Cool Colorado continued. ‘* Yes, but hold on!” Buffalo Bill exclaimed, “Thar’s one point that you haven’t covered, What reason bad any one to get the gal West?” “TI have speculated on that too,” the Half- breed Detective replied with a quiet smile, ‘There is a wild legend connected with this Ute princess, the Snow White Dove, which I remember to have heard some time ago; it is in regard to a rich gold mine in the wilder- ness north of Holy Cross Mountains.” ‘‘By Jove! so thar is!” cried the great scout bringing bis hand down with a hearty slap vpon his muscular leg, as if to give emphasis to the words. ‘‘T remember now all about it!” I have heard the yarn spun a hundred times by the camp- fire, but I never took much stock in it, for I have heard so many yarns of that kind that I have got to be mighty doubtful about them,” irl. Sioux hyer disap- owing where he has ae Sia Ae . YY 4 2 all 11icbooks.«